


House Arrest

by Rozilla



Series: Thunder Bros - Thundershield Dumping Ground [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Attempt at Humor, Bedside Vigils, Bringing down the house, DIY, Domestic Avengers, Fire, Injury Recovery, M/M, Moving In Together, team effort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-21
Updated: 2014-11-18
Packaged: 2018-02-22 02:04:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2490467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rozilla/pseuds/Rozilla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thor has to move out of his place and sets about rebuilding an abandoned house. Steve, surprisingly, doesn't fancy moving in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Steve had been hoping for some hot Skype sex, but it was clear from the expression on Thor's face that it was off the cards for tonight.

'What's up?'

'It's my Dad,' Thor's voice was tinny over the speakers, his image lagging slightly as he put his head in his hands 'he's got a long, _long_ list of medical bills and he can't re-mortgage his place again.'

'So... what? You gotta lend him money?'

'No,' Thor looked up in despair, 'he wants our house back.'

'What?!' Steve stared at him 'But you and Loki've been there for years!'

'Yup,' Thor sighed 'but the mortgage is in my Dad's name, so technically it's his place. He wants us both out in by the end of the year.'

'Oh God, babe,' Steve leaned forward 'but-'

'That was the deal originally, we did the place up, then he'd sell it, but I got... settled in. My workshop's, I pretty much rebuilt this entire place myself, plus you know... the memories here.'

Steve nodded. Jane's presence was pretty tangible in that house.

'Not to mention that Loki's pissed because he'll have to move the fucking reptile and it's condo-aquarium thing it lives in.'

'Shit,' Steve muttered, he'd hoped that creepy thing had died by now, but no- apparently snakes live for up to twenty years. Unless they have an accident obviously. Like accidentally getting flung out of a window. Into traffic. And set on fire.

'So... you guys looking to move out?'

'Yeah... and uh-' Thor smiled and gave him a sly little smile 'I was hoping you'd... y'know... wanna move in?'

'Huh?'

'Look, it's sudden, I know, but I've got my eye on a house about half way between our current places and if you want you can come and look at it and me and Loki are pretty well off given that he's now some sort of freakin' YouTube star and mechanics are usually in demand and so we can all move in together and I'll make sure that snake stays out of your way and-'

Steve was impressed at the way Thor could just keep going and going, he was a man of great lung capacity as Steve knew very _very_ well. 

'Look... Thor, I'll think about it okay? Maybe we can go look at the place together and... well.'

There were probably people on the International Space Station who could see Thor's grin right now. He leaned forward 'I wish I could kiss you right now.'

'Don't get to excited, it's not a yes, just a maybe, okay? There's still Bucky.'

'Yeah I know... but this place could fit him as well! You'll see when we get there.'

 

 

Well, Thor was right- they  _could_ all fit in the place. It was an old Queen Anne, with a couple of towers and pointed roofs, balconies, and came with five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a huge garden, a massive garage that Thor could turn into a workshop and more than enough room for Loki and Bucky's various online businesses. 

The trouble was that it was a dump. In fact, calling it a dump was pretty generous. It hadn't had electricity since the nineties, the roof was caving in, there were scorch marks on the walls along with gang graffiti and Steve couldn't help but notice the used needles and rat droppings.

'Was this place a drug den?' Steve asked the real-estate guy, a smiling if slightly balding guy (who was pretty cute actually) who gave him a hopeful look.

'Uh... sort of.'

'By 'sort of' you mean 'yes' don't you?'

'Yeah.'

Steve sighed deeply 'Listen, Mr Coulson-'

'Call me Phil,' the man said, genially.

'Phil, level with me, if we did buy this place, how likely is it that we'll survive the winter?'

'It's got a skylight in the attic space!' Thor boomed from somewhere above them 'I can turn this into a studio for you Steve!'

Steve rolled his eyes 'Ignore the crazy man in the attic, it is  _not_ a done deal,  _at all_ .'

'It has a lot of potential,' Phil said 'it just needs a few repairs.'

'Easy for you to say,' Steve muttered.

Loki returned from the garden, fiddling with his phone 'There's a pool,' he said, casually 'well, I assume it  _was_ a pool. Unless an empty tiled pit in the garden is where people normally keep old mattresses and dead possums.'

'Oh god,' Steve shuddered.

'Pictures of it have already been reblogged about a hundred times- hahaha!' He laughed at something 'Look, this one says 'Probs haunted! Move in immediately!'.'

'We cannot buy this place, whatever we save in the asking price we'll have to pay double in getting the place up to some sort of living standard.'

'It'd make a great video project,' said Loki, pointing his phone around 'I can team up with Bucky.'

'He'd hate it here!' Steve snapped 'I'm serious, if you two wanna move in, then good luck to you. I'm not leaving my warm, safe apartment to live in... Satan's armpit.'

'More like Satan's ass,' Loki corrected.

'Hey!' Phil protested.

'Nice talking to you, but I'm not interested.'

'But your... partner?'

'Boyfriend!' Thor came down the rickety stairs, two at a time, grinning like an idiot 'I'll take it! It's perfect!'

Steve shut his eyes 'No.'

'Come by my office tomorrow, we'll get it all settled.'

'Uh! Hello!' Steve took Thor's hand 'Are you insane?! This place was a drug den!'

' _Was_ , my love,  _was_ !'

'But-'

'I am buying this place,' Thor held his cheek 'I shall have it more than habitable in six months.'

' _Thor_!' Steve pulled away 'I'm super fucking serious, I'm not living here.'

'Give me six months, I promise. If you don't like it, you don't have to move in.'

'That's not fair! I _want_ to move in, but I have Bucky to think of, I have a business, I can't just up and leave. Sorry.'

Thor looked hurt and he had a _talent_ for the kicked-puppy look. Steve sighed and shook his head 'But if you can get this place... decent, in six months I guess...'

'Deal!' Thor held him around the place 'Now kiss me!'

'You're lucky you're so hot Odinsson,' Steve mumbled, after he no longer had a mouth full of Viking tongue.

'Me and my brother will get this place up to snuff, we've done it before! Is that not right Loki?'

'Sort of,' Loki replied, looking up from his phone 'we had help before- and that took a year.'

'Think positive!' He slapped Loki on the back 'I _love_ a challenge.'

 

In the adjoining room the ceiling fell in. Mr call-me-Phil tried to smile 'Pleasure doing business with you.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve loses his temper, Thor calls in help and disaster strikes.

The next few weeks saw Steve bury himself almost face first in commissions and some freelance work. He was at his Wacom tablet when he got a rather sheepish call from Thor.

'Uh, Steve?'

'You just worked out that it's going to be more than six months to fix that dump?'

'...Maybe.'

'But you've already signed the paperwork despite my objections.'

'…Yes.'

'Right.'

 

He did stop by the next day to see how the work was going and saw Loki sawing up wood in the front yard, his pick-up blasting some AC/DC at full volume whilst Thor was tossing the same mattresses from the pool into a trailer to take to the dump.

'Hey!' He smiled, despite himself, it was always worth seeing Thor sweat.

'Hello,' Thor returned it with caution 'you... alright?'

'I'm still mad, but not so much.'

Thor took off a pair of thick gloves and walked over for a kiss 'May I?'

'Sure.'

They shared a short but thorough kiss before Steve put both hands on his shoulders 'It'll take longer than six months, I don't want to see you get hurt doing something dangerous because you're trying to rush.'

'How about a year? We're just working on the general structure and it's not as bad as it looks! The roof is pretty sturdy, it just needs-'

'It's fine, sweetie,' Steve gave Thor's ear a tug 'a year. When you're done, I'll move in.'

Thor nodded 'Bring Bucky over soon, see what he thinks first. He and Loki can collaborate!'

'Public display!' Loki called when he had finished a plank 'Get a room! I suggest the master bedroom, it's got a wasp nest.'

'A what?!' Steve stood back 'A fucking-'

'The exterminator's coming this afternoon!' Thor held up his hands in placation 'I've sealed the door, the window's stuck shut from the outside, there's no way the little fuckers are getting out.'

'You're allergic you idiot! You could've died!'

'I've got my epi-pen, dude, chill!'

'A nest! A whole nest! Did Phil Coulson tell you about it?'

'Uh...'

Steve turned away 'He did! He told you about a killer wasp's nest and you still bought this hell-hole!'

'It's the reason the meth-addicts moved out,' Loki said, casually 'apparently. Not that I talked to them or anything.'

Thor looked partly exasperated, partly desperate 'Listen, Steve-'

'Don't, just- is there anything else you've neglected to tell me? Is there a body under the porch or something?'

'We haven't checked under there yet,' Loki leant on the wall to extract a cigarette 'could be.'

'Jesus, Loki hold kjeft din jævla idiot!' Thor turned to him, fists shaking.

'Kyss mæ i ræva,' Loki replied, lighting up 'I'll leave you two to work out your domestic.'

'Don't bother, I'm gone,' Steve turned away 'I'm not going to stand idly by and watch you kill yourself.'

Thor rolled his eyes 'I've done this before, I know the risks! Why are you being such a dick about this?!'

'Me?!' Steve spat back 'You could take my concern seriously and find some way to back out of this- this- fucking stupidity! Don't you care what I think?! If you were going to buy this shit-hole whatever I said then why did you even bother to fucking ask me!?

'Because I love you you dumb blonde fucker!'

'Then why don't you take my advice?!'

Thor stopped, grinding his jaw for a moment 'Because... we need somewhere to live!'

'Could've bought literally anywhere else, you had the money! Why- y'know what? Bye, I'm going home.'

'Fine!' Thor shot back and stalked back around the house without another word.

 

Steve stewed for days, sweating out a few frustrations by doing a few rounds with a punching bag at his local gym, listening to a few movie soundtracks, feeling a little better with each impact to the canvas. He liked the place- Fury's- it had been going for decades, had an old '40s feel to it, even had a old style boxing ring. The man who ran the place, a tall older black man with an eye patch named Nick, didn't comment when Steve was the last person there, but did bring over more water bottles and a towel. Eventually, Steve took the hint when the lights were shut off and unplugged himself.

'Need a lift home?' Nick asked kindly, nodding to the parking lot.

'Nah, it's okay, I'll walk home,' Steve nodded to him 'thanks anyway. Say hi to the guys for me.'

'Sure,' Nick patted him on the shoulder 'stay safe.'

Steve walked home, still in a funk, but better than he had been. He reached his apartment and found Bucky and Sam snuggled up on the sofa eating popcorn and watching Caddyshack.

'You okay?' Bucky lifted himself up a little.

'I will be,' Steve sighed 'I'm going to bed.'

'How long are you gonna stay mad at Thor for?' Sam asked, exasperated.

'Until... I dunno. Till he stops being a giant Viking douche.'

'That'll be a while then,' Bucky laughed.

Steve did smile at that 'Night guys.'

He found himself laying awake for a while, feeling angry, frustrated and, strangely, a little horny. He couldn't bare it. He would call Thor up and just... whilst he was in the mood to be understanding at least, maybe to find some sort of ground between them. Maybe phone sex to. Angry phone sex.

'He's not home,' Loki answered the phone, killing the mood in an instant.

'Seriously? It's like... ten thirty! He still at the house?'

'Looks like,' Loki sounded pretty unconcerned.

'Well- aren't you worried?'

'No, he's a grown ass man,' Loki crunched something down the phone 'but if you still have your panties in a twist I'll call him okay?'

'First off, please don't fucking eat down the phone, second- take your attitude and shove it straight up your ass.'

'Kinky,' Loki replied, dispassionately 'I'll let you know.'

He put the phone down, Steve wondering if Thor would forgive him for kicking Loki's ass. Hard. He waited for twenty minutes, nearly calling Thor himself before receiving a single text from Loki;

He's on his way home, just left in the pick-up. Chill.

So, Thor was staying at the place late. Alone. In the dark. Was he doing this on purpose? He couldn't even guess. A horrible feeling grew in his gut- he wasn't sure if he could forgive this. He hated him right now, so much he was pretty tempted never to talk to him again and that hurt. He knew he loved the man, Thor loved him back, and they'd been through the ringer the last few years. This seemed a pretty petty reason to break up with someone, though it was getting less petty by the day. He tried to sleep, but he still felt an uneasy mix of fury and arousal. Angry sex with Thor was usually pretty good- not that there had been much of it. Just once or twice, but it had been good, all shoving and tongues and hands. He shuddered with the memory and contented himself to jerking off, biting his lip imagining Thor's hands on his chest, ass and reaching round to-

He came, muffling the gasp by burying his face in the pillow, just as he heard Bucky and Sam start moaning in the next room. He cleaned himself up with a towel left on the floor and settled into sleep, trying not to feel jealous of his friend's contentment- that would probably make him an even bigger jerk than he already was.

 

Loki called out of the blue the next day 'As much as I love being the mediator,' he drawled, the sound of Minecraft coming from the background 'I feel I ought to warn you that Thor's ex from Norway is flying over to help with the house.'

Steve's stomach seemed to fall into his shoes 'Oh... okay.'

'She's pretty hot, she restores and trains with old swords. Runs a Viking battle re-enactment troupe in Tromso. She's bringing a couple of guys with her- they came over for Thor's birthday last year, you'll probably remember them.'

Steve took a deep breath 'That's okay, I trust Thor.'

'I wouldn't,' Loki cursed as a zombie attacked 'gotta go.'

He put the phone down feeling sick. No- he wasn't that jealous and of course he trusted Thor. He met Sif and she was pretty cool. And hot. But he trusted Thor. Completely. Obviously. He was not going to drive over there just to check on him because that would be crazy and he was not crazy. Sam emerged first, greeting him with a promise of coffee and some breakfast, for which Steve was eternally grateful.

'Wanna head out for a run? Clear your head?'

'Sure, might help.'

He made a point of leaving his phone behind when he set out with Sam, managing a mile before calling it quits and grabbing some food on the way back. Sam patted him on the back 'Listen you really ought to talk to Thor, seriously, it's getting kind of ridiculous now.'

'I know,' Steve shook his head 'he's getting help on the house now, I should just get over myself I just... well...'

'You worry,' Sam nodded 'I get it, I do. It's what's kept Bucky going. He probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, but you don't need to worry about everyone. Especially Thor.'

Steve mulled this over as they arrived home. To their surprise, Bucky was running out the front door to them 'Jesus, Steve, Loki just called-'

He was sweating, on the verge of a panic attack, Sam stepped in and held him 'What happened?'

'Thor's he's... he's had an accident.'

Steve was on the bike in a heartbeat, heading straight to the county hospital.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor wakes up and makes a decision.

Steve was given directions to Thor's room and found Loki outside, pacing and twirling a lighter in his fingers.

'What happened?' Steve managed, breathless.

'He was working on one of the upper windows, the ladder fell backwards, he landed on his side in some poison oak we'd swept up. Broke an arm and a rib, covered in welts from the oak, but other than that...' he trailed away, not looking Steve in the eye 'he'll live. He's asleep, high as a kite on pain medication.'

Steve took that as his cue to go inside and felt his insides freeze over and he thought he'd faint right there. Thor was apparently sleeping, his skin mottled and bruised, one arm set in plaster, the other lying lip across his chest. He'd been wearing a long sleeved top, but there were the red welts from the poison oak across his face and and neck. Steve shuddered and walked in a little closer.

'He's been talking in his sleep,' Loki said, flatly, still twirling the lighter 'in Norwegian mostly. He was talking to Mam at one point- or thought he was. He was asking her whether he could go out on his bike, think he's hallucinating.'

Steve bit his lip, he knew the effects of pain medication all too well. At least this would be over in a few days right?

'I'm going to get coffee,' Loki mumbled 'want some?'

'Uh... sure, coffee, thanks,' Steve pinched the bridge of his nose 'sugar and cream please.'

Loki left, leaving him alone with Thor. He took his hand gently, wincing at the feeling of his skin. How were they going to treat his skin after he got out of the hospital? He dared to look at Thor's face- he had a black eye and his face was nearly covered in the red marks.

'Told you so,' he muttered, grateful no one heard him.

He jumped when Thor mumbled something in his sleep. He didn't catch it, but when Thor said nothing else, lying still again, he relaxed a little... until the feeling of helplessness set in again. He felt tears prick at his eyes, mostly relief, but he couldn't bare to see Thor like this- but to his own horror, the anger was still there. Anger at Thor for being to pig-headed and anger at himself for not being there to stop him, or hold the ladder, or-

'It'll take to long sweetie, I'm sorry.'

He stopped. Thor's voice was slurred, thick with pethidine, but he understood that. He paused, heart reaching up his throat and waiting for Thor to say something else.

'I spoke to the guy, said there's two years work in that place, we haven't got two years.'

Steve looked puzzled at him, then realisation dawned. In his shock, he didn't hear the door open behind them.

'Jane,' Thor mumbled again, louder this time 'I won't waste what little time we have left.'

He heard something crash against a wall outside and then a long stream of swearing in Norwegian and English. Steve got up and found Loki kicking and punching the wall, a water cooler lying on it's side and spilling onto the floor.

'Jesus! Loki!' Steve wrestled his arms around Loki's thin frame, holding his arms back and trying to get his attention.

'That's why he bought that place! Because of her! Tispe! She's dead but she's still ruling his fucking life!'

Steve held tight, but Loki was pretty strong, bucking and trying to twist away. Hospital security was heading towards them, Steve hissed in his ear 'Either calm down or go home because you're not helping right now!'

Loki saw the men approaching and stilled, Steve letting him go. He glared at them and walked away 'I'm going home,' he spat, not turning round 'tell him to go fuck himself when he wakes up!'

Steve just stood, watching him walk away, the security guards catching up with him to escort him away, just to make sure.

'Nice to see Loki again.'

Steve turned to see a doctor, presumably a doctor from the uniform, with kind brown eyes and gold-rimmed glasses.

'You know him?' Steve asked, desperate for an anchor back to reality after that confrontation. He realised he was shaking.

'Yeah, Thor to,' the man held out a hand 'Dr. Banner, and you are...?'

'Steve, Steve Rogers,' Steve didn't have the patience to care about the doctor's attitude 'Thor's boyfriend.'

This didn't appear to phase Dr. Banner at all, he just smiled a little 'Then call me Bruce.'

Steve shook his hand 'God... this is a mess.'

'Thor's in a bad way, but he'll bounce back, I've seen worse.'

'I'm sure you have,' Steve walked back into Thor's room, sitting beside his bed 'how do you know Thor?'

'I was...' he began, then bit his cheek 'you must know about his late wife?'

'Oh yeah,' Steve sighed 'it's hard not to.'

'I was her doctor, I actually administered a lot of her chemo.'

Steve tensed 'Right, okay.'

Bruce walked around to Thor's chart 'He went ahead and bought The Palace?'

'The what?'

'That's it's local nickname, bit of a joke,' Bruce flipped up a page.

'Hah,' Steve rolled his eyes 'so Jane had her eye on the place?'

'Apparently, she wanted to buy it when she was alive, but... yeah, bit of a pointless undertaking really.'

'Hmm.'

Bruce set back Thor's chart again 'Look, I suppose it's probably none of my business, but... how's he been doing lately?'

'Uh... not bad actually, except Odinsson senior kicked them out. Needed the house back. That's why Thor went ahead and bought the Palace,' Steve took Thor's hand again.

'Has... she come up much?'

'Only when we first started dating... he's been pretty happy the last couple of years. Not mentioned her much at all.'

'You two been together long?'

'It'll be three years in November.'

Bruce nodded and appeared to consider something 'I've never seen a marriage like theirs, before or since and I know it must've had something to do with the whole 'doomed love' thing but... he adored her. Never wanted to leave her side.'

'I know.. I get it, he wanted to buy the house to try and honour her dying wish,' Steve looked down and sniffed 'what's your point?'

'If you want to stay with him, you'll have to accept she's going to be there to. Somewhere. In pretty much every decision he makes. Maybe it'll fade in a long time... but you'll have to be patient. Sit it out.'

Steve felt like hitting someone.

'You're right,' he said, coldly, not looking up 'it is none of your business.'

Bruce shook his head 'I'll be outside, call a nurse if I'm needed.'

 

He sat, quietly, at Thor's side, the anger boiling now, but he didn't want to leave. The horrifying realisation came that perhaps he should.

For good.

How could he live in a house that wasn't meant for him? No matter what Thor changed about the place? At least now he was a visitor to their home, so he didn't mind the photos of Jane or occasionally having to shut off Who Wants To Live Forever because it made Thor punch a hole in the wall. It was part of the furniture, in a house that wasn't his- if he moved in, it'd be in the walls. He'd be stuck there in her shadow.

'My balls hurt.'

He turned to Thor, who was opening his eye (the other still to swollen to fully open) wondering if he'd imagined that, but no, Thor was groaning awake.

'What?' Steve tried not to smile, his face still ached from crying, but seeing Thor wake up sent relief washing through him.

'I was wearing my work pants, the ones with a hole in the crotch, and one of the little fucking plants got to my goods. I think one of them swelled up like a fucking grapefruit. Had to have a shot of antihistamines to the crotch,' Thor was still slurred, but he sounded a bit more coherent 'hey sweetness.'

'Hey,' Steve pressed a kiss to his lips 'how're you feeling?'

'Like shit,' Thor replied, with a groan 'and like I want to take a bulldozer to that fucking house.'

Steve looked taken aback 'Seriously?'

'Yeah,' Thor shut his eyes for a moment 'I'm so sorry, I should've listened to you. I'm a fucking moron.'

'Yeah you are,' Steve smiled damply 'but...'

'I was lying there for ten minutes,' Thor continued 'I would say it was the worst ten minutes of my life but... well... it at least makes the top ten. I was in fucking agony, waiting for Loki to call the ambulance, and I just had a thought. A vision I think.'

Steve frowned 'What'd'you mean?'

'I saw... someone in the window when I looked up, I must have been hallucinating from the pain, but I swear on my father's life I saw... I...'

'Jane?'

'Yeah, her and my Mom to.'

Steve's eyes threatened to spill again.

'They were both looking pretty pissed at me.'

'Don't blame them.'

Thor grinned a little 'I don't believe in ghosts or guardian angels,' he sounded a little pained 'I do believe my subconscious was trying to make me listen to reason.'

Steve sniffed 'I thought Jane wanted to buy that place?'

Thor turned his head 'Who said?'

'Dr. Banner,' Steve pointed out into the hall.

'He here? God, it'd be nice to catch up, sooner rather than later, I think I might need some more painkillers soon.'

'I'll call for him.'

Steve got a nurse's attention and she ran to get some more meds. He returned to Thor's side and held his hand again.

'Jane did want to buy the place, before she got sick,' Thor whispered, weakly 'we couldn't afford it- but she'd hate for me to risk my life and my thing with you over a house-'

He groaned deeply and clenched his fists 'Ow, ow, ow!'

'It's here!' Dr. Banner came rushing in, setting up to inject him, a nurse asking Steve to move back a little to let him work. Thor soon settled again, drifting back into sleep.

 

'Some guys here to see you,' Banner nodded to the waiting room 'have you called to check on Loki?'

'I texted Bucky and Sam, my room mate and his boyfriend, asked if he could drop by.'

'Good, he's one to watch,' Banner shuddered 'Loki's a bit unstable. You ought to go check again in person.'

'I noticed.'

When he saw Bucky, the other man pulled him into a hug and Sam patted him on the shoulder 'How's Thor doing?'

'Better, broken arm, fell in poison oak,' Steve explained, noting the collective wince 'but he'll live.'

'Thank God,' Bucky said 'Loki's a bit... off. I checked on him about twenty minutes ago.'

'I'll go see him, Thor'd want me to stay with him.'

'We'll hang out here, let you know how everything is,' Sam put a hand on his shoulder 'it'll be okay.'

He smiled at him, Sam always knew what to say, it's the only reason he trusted him around Bucky.

'Sure. I know.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is turning out to be a lot more angsty that I anticipated. Sorry. Also, when my Dad woke up after recovering from surgery for meniere's disease, the first words he said to my Mum were 'My balls hurt.' because he had fat extracted from his hip to re-balance the fluid in his brain.   
> It was too funny not to include here. Sorry.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At least it couldn't get any worse right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be doing NaNoWrMo so I might not update again for a while. This is pretty much filler.

Steve should have guessed what was happening when two fire trucks passed him on the road up to the house. He sped the bike up, but could see the pillar of smoke from where he was and by the time he arrived, it had already claimed half the entire building.

'Oh Jesus,' he muttered, rushing forward to speak to a fireman 'what happened?'

'Not sure,' he coughed and removed his appratus 'you the owner?'

'No, my partner bought this place! Was anyone inside?'

'Yeah, but he's the one who called us, he's over there, you know him?'

'Brother in law,' He mentally added _sorta_ as he ran forward to where Loki sat, huddled in a blanket for the shock.

'Not my fault,' Loki whispered 'it was an accident, didn't mean to-'

'Loki?' Steve knelt beside him 'you okay?'

'No, not really,' Loki shivered 'it was on fire when I got here, you gotta believe me.'

Steve patted him on the back 'Let's get you to a hospital first, is it on it's way?'

'I'm fine,' Loki protested, but launched into a coughing fit.

'Whatever, get in the ambulance when it gets okay?'

Loki glared at him 'I swear it wasn't me.'

Steve couldn't help but not believe him.

 

They both got a ride on the ambulance right back to the hospital, Loki on a respirator and Steve sitting in silence, trying not to think what seemed pretty obvious from where he was. Loki started the fire deliberately, of course he did. For the insurance? To get back at Thor? To spite himself? Who knew? Either way, Steve knew better than to trust Loki's word.

'Wanna see Thor,' Loki croaked from behind the mouth piece 'can I?'

After some persuasion and a check up, the doctor concluded that Loki was fine and made a point to remind him that smoking was bad. Loki shrugged and sat on his hand so he wouldn't give the poor woman the finger. Steve walked with him back to Thor's bed, where he now sat up again, still muzzy with drugs.

'What's happened?' Thor asked, picking up on the serious looks they were giving him.

'Uh...' Steve began.

'The house burned down,' Loki mumbled.

Thor's eyes widened 'What?' He sounded more hurt than shocked, 'when? How bad's the damage? How did-'

He stopped, stared at Loki for a moment, then frowned 'Did you do it?'

'No!' Loki shook his head 'I swear to you Thor, it was on fire when I got there, I left the hospital to clear my head, I got back and most of the upper floor was burning, I called the fire department but it was too late-'

He stopped when he saw his brother's expression. Thor just stared, somewhere between angry and disappointed 'You swear to me?'

'I do! I wasn't any where near it! Thor!'

'Swear. Properly.'

Loki paused and looked at Steve for a moment, then, quietly said 'I swear on Jane.'

Thor leaned forward, wincing with the movement, but still looking like an imminent thunderstorm 'Loki.'

'I swear on Jane, on Jane and Mom, that I did not start that fire.'

Steve's eyes widened, he looked from one to the other, wondering if either had the strength to fight, but wouldn't put it past them. Loki lied on impulse, sometimes to cover himself, sometimes just for the hell of it. That was Loki, it was like he couldn't help himself. So often Thor fell for it, trusted his little brother only to be let down, sometimes spectacularly. Steve knew that they used to fight constantly, that it took years for them to reconcile... but he'd only seen them as brothers. He'd only ever seen them happy.

'Loki, you're my brother and I love you,' Thor said, still calm, but Steve could feel the anger 'but if you swear on Jane and you're lying, I will never, ever forgive you.'

'I'm not lying,' Loki whispered, 'I promise.'

Thor turned his head away, swallowing 'Then I believe you. I will stand by you. I hope you wouldn't take their names in vain.'

'Never,' his brother stepped forward to his bedside 'I'm not that far gone.'

Thor nodded 'Good to hear.'

Steve said nothing, hands in his pockets, just staring at the floor. He had to admit, if Loki _was_ lying, he was a hell of an actor. Loki looked close to tears, he shook violently now, looking for a seat. Steve went to him 'You sit down, I'll get some water okay?'

Loki nodded, tears spilling down his face 'I'm sorry.'

'What for?' Steve asked, cautiously.

Loki shook his head 'It was a prank, I only wanted to scare him, didn't know it would make him fall...'

'What?'

'He had those dead possums stuffed and left them up where I was working,' Thor groaned 'I saw them in the bedroom on the second floor, freaked out and fell backwards off my ladder.'

Steve stared at Loki ' _What_?!'

'It was for my videos!' Loki protested 'I was going to set them up in the kitchen! I didn't know he was there!'

He wasn't sure how he stopped himself from punching Loki right then, but he did 'You fucking _idiot_! He could've been killed!'

'Hey, it's fine, he didn't know,' Thor sighed 'right Loki?'

'Yes! It was an accident!'

Steve threw his hands up 'Well sure it was, just a harmless prank that resulted in a near fatal injury!'

'Steve, please,' Thor begged weakly 'just let it go okay? Damage done, I'll live.'

He stared at Thor and just shook his head 'That house, it's just... for Christ's sakes...'

'We need to contact the insurance people,' Thor shut his eyes 'perhaps we can get some money out of it. Demolish the rest and sell the land.'

'Sif's flying over tonight,' Loki said, distantly 'so's the rest of the guys.'

'They can stay at our place, maybe help me tear it down.'

Steve walked out to get water, maybe clear his head and ran into Dr. Banner again 'Hey.'

'You find Loki?'

'Yeah... he... the Palace burned down. He was there. He's been treated for smoke inhalation, but he's fine.'

'Burned down?' Banner looked grave for a moment 'I don't know if you're aware of Loki's past-'

'I am and he swore on Jane that he didn't do it, so Thor believes him.'

Banner bit his cheek 'He would probably say anything to get out of trouble. Or _prison_ in this case.'

'I don't think Thor would press charges anyway,' Steve rubbed his eyes 'but if Thor is willing to take his word, then I guess I do to.'

Banner shrugged 'If you say so.'

Steve stomped back to the room, finding Bucky and Sam had arrived as well.

'Hey guys,' he hugged Bucky tight 'you two okay?'

'We heard about the fire,' Sam nodded to Thor 'how bad was it?'

'I'm pretty sure it's a lost cause now,' Loki piped up 'if it wasn't already.'

'Shit,' Bucky winced 'what're you gonna do?'

Thor closed his eyes 'If you wouldn't mind going back to rescue my pick-up, I'll go in a few days and salvage anything worth keeping and I'll speak to the insurance guys.'

'You're not doing that,' Steve went to his side and held his good hand, kissing his forehead for good measure 'you are resting up. Me and Loki will take care of it.'

'If you like,' Thor tried to smile 'Sorry, 'm real tired.'

'We'll leave you to sleep. We'll come back in the morning-'

'Sif,' Thor murmured 'someone pick her and the guys up at the airport, check my phone okay?'

'I will, it's fine, babe, go to sleep,' Steve kissed his lips 'get better.'

Thor obliged and sighed as he fell asleep again.

 

At the airport, Loki and Steve waited, looking out for Sif. She wasn't difficult to spot, even if Steve had only seen her in old photos. As it turned out, she was gorgeous. Tall, leanly muscled, long dark hair (braided and dyed), light hazel eyes, tattoos and piercings through the nose and lip, dressed in stylishly ripped jeans and a dragon t-shirt. There were not many people who could pull off that look, but Sif could effortlessly. Steve could really see why Thor dated her. Hell, he would at least try and ask her out if he weren't already spoken for. She arrived with two other guys- Fandral, a blonde with an artful beard and moustache, and Hogun, a tall Mongolian-born man with long braids and casually gothic fashion sense.

'Volstagg couldn't make it, his wife's gone into labour _again_ ,' Sif rolled her eyes 'that woman's some sort of baby machine.'

There were quick introductions (Sif gave him a knowing smile when he said he was Thor's boyfriend) and Steve led them out to the hire-car, waiting till they got inside their place before breaking the news about the Palace.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a team effort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just watched 'Restoration Man' to give me ideas, I hope you're HAPPY!

Since everyone was jet-lagged to within an inch of their lives, they agreed to visit Thor and Loki in the hospital tomorrow and everyone, including Steve, go over to Thor's place. The next morning, over tea, coffee and breakfast, Sif winced when Steve showed her the photos he had taken on his phone 'Christ, that's awful!'

'The fire department said they couldn't conclusively say what started it yet,' Steve sighed 'but they think it might be some of the chemicals Thor used to try and take out a wasp's nest. He told me he got an exterminator in, but he probably tried to have a go himself.'

'He's allergic!' Sif cried, incredulous.

'Yeah, I know.'

'Moron.'

Steve felt like he and Sif were on the same page. She had happily slept on the sofa-bed at Thor's place, allowing Hogun and Fandral to take the beds. She'd been camping in the wilderness in Norway and Iceland- she was made of pretty hardy stuff. Steve noticed, casually, that she had more than a few Norse tattoos of her own on her arms and back. Now they sat in the kitchen, Steve serving breakfast, texting Bucky and Sam to check all was well.

'You think we can salvage the Palace?' Steve asked, cautiously.

'Maybe,' Sif shrugged 'it'll take months, I'm not sure I can be here that long.'

'Well, maybe between the four of us...'

Sif tapped the table 'We'll visit Thor later, then decide what to do. I want to help, but it's a... big job.'

'Yep, it is.'

Sif looked at him for a moment 'You were against it from the start right?'

'That's putting it mildly.'

She patted his hand 'Listen, I'm sure we can come to a solution. Thor's worth the time in my experience.'

 

Thor was looking much better, his skin had cleared a little and he was off the pain killers. He looked elated to see everyone, receiving a chaste but loving kiss from Steve and Sif leaning over to peck him on the cheek.

'You are a complete idiot you know that?' She said, brushing his hair back from his face 'Steve deserves a medal!'

'And more besides,' said Thor with a weak smile 'how's it going? Seen the Palace yet?'

'It's pretty bad,' Fandral sat astride a chair 'most of the first floor is damaged, killed the wasp's nest though.'

'Just as well,' Thor murmured 'that exterminator was going to cost a fortune.'

Steve rolled his eyes, Hogun spoke, low and accented 'What will you do now?'

'I can leave tomorrow,' Thor pointed to his broken arm in a cast 'I'll need to do some physio after this is off, but other than that, no lasting damage. Then I'll go to the house myself and maybe we can start looking into getting that place torn down.'

Everyone was silent.

'After everything?' Steve asked, weakly 'you're still going to tear it down?'

'What choice do I have?' Thor leaned back 'It was a dumb idea to start with, I ought to cut my losses now and see about finding somewhere else.'

'Or not.'

They turned to see Loki arrive, looking much better, but cautious around Thor 'I spoke to a couple of friends... they said they would come to help.'

'Which friends?' Thor asked, cautiously.

'Uh... you remember Tony?'

Thor's face fell like a stone 'Stark? You called _Tony Stark_?'

'Yeah... he owes me a few favours.'

'You know Tony Stark?' Steve looked surprised.

' _You_ know Tony Stark?!' Thor turned to him 'How come?'

'His Dad got me through college, old family friend. I kinda lost touch after he died. Tony and I... didn't get along. He was a jerk.'

'He's _still_ a jerk,' Thor glared at Loki 'what sort of favour?'

'I promoted his work on my channel,' Loki was scrolling through his phone 'he made about ten thousand odd dollars because of me, he owes me _big_.'

'You failed to mention this earlier,' Thor looked suspicious.

'Didn't want to,' Loki said with a shrug 'thought we didn't need his help.' 

'Well we clearly do,' Steve said, a thought occurring 'I could ask the guys to come up at weekends and maybe ask Clint and Tash to come along to.'

Thor looked at everyone 'You serious? Why-'

'Look, Thor,' Steve patted his hand 'I thought this idea was amazingly stupid, but... we haven't got much choice now. There's no way we'd make money back, we'd only spend more dismantling the place, might as well make the best of it.' 

'Plus, we need a bigger place,' Loki said 'our lively hoods depend on space.'

'And I thought you wanted me to move in?' Steve said, gently lacing his fingers in Thor's.

'I do...' Thor mumbled 'but after everything that's happened-'

'It'd be stupid to give up now,' Sif agreed 'plus we didn't fly a thousand miles, to knock a house down.'

'We'll make a start tomorrow,' Fandral grinned 'looks like we've got a project.'

Loki looked to his brother 'Okay? It's my home to, I'm pretty invested in having a roof over my head.'

Thor shrugged one shoulder 'Well, if you guys can help, maybe it'll get done faster.'

Steve kissed his cheek 'Bet your ass we will.'

 

Tony Stark arrived in a sports car, something that did not endure him to Steve, but he knew Thor would approve of Tony's taste in music- a Black Sabbath t-shirt meant Thor would at least give you the time of day. He was with a friend of his, a tall black man named Rhodey who pulled a face when he saw the Palace. Introductions were swift, Steve shook their hands and Tony strode in, beaming and glancing around 'Well, this is... quaint.'

'Hey Tony,' Loki waved in greeting from a trestle table erected with the floor plans 'how's Pepper?'

'She's good, asked me to take some pictures, she's itching for a interior design project and this fits the bill pretty nicely I'd say.'

'It's going to need more than interior design,' Rhodey muttered 'what's that smell?'

'Probably dry rot or possibly chemicals, we can't be sure,' Loki nodded to the garden 'Thor is out there with Sif having a look at the garden. He's good hand is the one that's busted, so his contribution will be pretty minimal.'

'He's not going anywhere near the plants in that garden until we fucking torch every single poison oak.'

'Maybe that can be what we do today?' Rhodey flexed his arms 'I feel up for taking out some weeds, how about you Ton?'

'Sounds good, coffee first though, I'm  _freakin_ ' starving!'

They all sat around on the floor; Loki, Thor, Tony, Steve, Rhodey, Sif, Hogun and Fandral, whilst coffee, tea and a box of cookies was passed around.

'Okay, me, Hogun, Rhodey and Loki are doing around the sides of the house, getting rid of the dangerous plants.'

'I can help-' Thor began.

'No,' said Steve firmly 'you are not going anywhere near them.'

'But what else can I do with a busted arm?'

'You can help Tony, Sif and Fandral go around assessing properly what needs to be done and calling people up if necessary.' 

'We'll need plasterers, roofers... the works,' Tony agreed 'how are we at those things?'

'I can plaster with one hand,' Thor pointed out.

'Sure, okay, but I think me and the good lady can do the roof.'

'We'll need scaffolding,' Sif said 'and all the safety gear.'

'I've got all that,' Tony made a note on his phone 'I can even get some guys to put it up.'

'So they'll do the outside, that's the worst,' Fandral shuddered 'it's a  _long_ way up. We can do the inside.'

''Fraidy cat,' Tony teased 'but okay, that's doable.'

'He's right to be afraid,' Thor pointed out, which shut Tony up.

'We need to check just how unsafe upstairs is before we let anyone else up there,' Sif took a sip of coffee 'the burnt out upper floors are the worst, it can mess with the structural integrity.' 

'So today, just the grunt work to make sure it's safe for the real stuff to begin- clean and sweep,' Rhodey clarified. 

'Yup, weeds, poison oak, the ivy, the thorns... and clear out the rest of the trash,' Steve reminded everyone. 

'Okay!' Tony stood up 'Go team, can we have some cheesy motivational music on?'

After a vote, they elected for the theme from  _Rocky_ , blasting out from Thor's pick-up speakers.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A resolution and a possibility for the future.

The roof was first to be finished, between Sif, Tony and his army of highly paid contractors. It was completed and safe in a month, letting Sif and Fandral repair and decorate the attic space into a light airy studio. The rest of the house was going to take longer, but structurally it was pretty sound- the damage from the fire was repairable and the contractors had no trouble making the place at least safe to continue the inner repairs and fixtures. Thor's arm healed, to his eternal relief, but Steve told him to take it easy, to keep doing his physio and not to even _touch_ a bench press for another month. Thor had lost much of his bulk, which bothered him, but kept up a running schedule and tried to do chin ups with one arm to impress everyone. Which it did.

In the end, the whole process of basic repairs and adding fixtures (bathroom, kitchen, electrics, heating and the like) took over a year; Sif, Fandral and Hogun went back to Norway, Loki and Bucky teamed up on a Youtube project documenting the build (leaving out the injuries and general heart ache) that brought in thousands of new followers, along with plenty of cash from the ad revenue. The episode where they pranked Tony (by dropping a pair of stuffed possums on him, whilst he was outside on the phone to Pepper) went viral after a day. It was even on CNN. 

Eventually, the time came to sell the previous place and put Thor and Loki's stuff into storage, since the Palace was not quite habitable yet- there was the decorating, the plumbing was a little shot in the bathroom and it it needed heating. The snake went to live with one of Loki's girlfriends (he had five across the country, they all knew about each other and were apparently okay with it) so Steve was happy. Thor left slowly, step by step, no daring to look back. He and Steve stood on the steps up to the porch, Thor holding the last box out of the place and clenching his jaw. The box was small, about the size of a shoe box, blue and decorated in stars. There was no way it'd go into storage.

'I'm never going to forgive Dad for this,' he muttered.

'C'mon, I have something at the new place for you,' Steve took his hand and whispered in his ear 'please?'

Thor nodded, then, with one last look at the old place, he bid it farewell by patting the wooden beam solemnly and following Steve away. He rode on he back of Steve's bike, clinging tightly, the box in his backpack. He always knew it made Thor feel a bit better. 

When they arrived, the place was dark, but Steve knew Loki slept in the attic space to keep an eye on it- he was keen to make sure no one came back to undo the hard work they put in. Steve led him in through the hall way and up the first two flight of stairs and told him to close his eyes.

'Isn't that the room I fell from?' Thor asked, cautiously.

'It is, but just hear me out about it okay?'

Thor shrugged and closed his eyes, following Steve in.

 

When he opened his eyes, he felt as though he whole body went cold, then warm, leaving him shaking where he stood. The room was bare, no furniture, no carpet- though the floor had been polished and varnished- but Steve had painted the whole room a deep, warm blue, and dotted it with gold and silver stars. He'd set up a few choice mason jars with little tea-lights inside so that the paint reflected their shine. 

'I figured, since you're not going to want to sleep in the room you fell from, maybe we can leave it empty. For her.'

Thor said nothing. He couldn't. 

'There's still four more bedrooms left- one for us, one for Loki, one for Bucky if he wants to move in and bring Sam, so that leaves this one. We can just... do nothing else with it. It was her place after all, she deserves part of it.'

Tears rolled down Thor's cheeks 'Steve...'

'It's okay right? Not too... weird?'

'No it.. it's beautiful,' Thor sobbed and drew Steve into a hug 'it's the most beautiful thing you've ever done-'

He stopped 'I'm sorry, I try to forget about her, it's been such a long time now...'

'You won't, I don't want you to,' Steve held his cheek 'she's going to be there no matter what and I understand. It's part of you and it's part of this house, so... this is Jane's room.'

Thor kissed him for that, slow and salty from the tears 'God I love you,' he managed, thickly, drawing back 'I probably don't deserve you.'

'I'll be the judge of that,' Steve smiled.

'Thanks,' Thor managed a damp little chuckle 'hope I'm worthy.'

'I think so.'

They stayed there for a while, enjoying the quiet and candlelight for a while, before Thor stepped back a little. He unzipped his bag and gently took out the box, laying it just under the window where the night's sky was just lighting up with stars. He went back to Steve and wrapped his hands around his waist 'Y'know, we don't have to keep it empty forever. Seems like a waste. Jane wouldn't want that. She'd want some life in here.'

'Life? What're you suggesting?'

'Oh you know... something small. Something for us to love-'

'OK! Back up!' Steve gently broke away 'We have not discussed this! I don't think we're ready for kids!'

Thor raised an eyebrow 'I was thinking a dog or a cat, but if you're really set on having a kid then-'

'You  _ass_ !'

Steve slapped him on the arm whilst Thor laughed and bit his lip 'You are too much!'

They wrestled a little, till Thor had Steve pinned to the wall, then they stopped and looking into each other's eyes, Thor mumbled 'We shouldn't... not in here.'

'No,' Steve took his hands 'I think the bedroom down the hall is free, wanna try it out?'

'Sure, best to make sure they're sturdy before we commit.' 

'Better use protection, still not ready for kids.'

They laughed and kissed and did a kind of waltz down the hall before Steve stopped again 'I think, since we're moving in together, we might want to consider the next logical step.'

'Banging?' Thor grinned wickedly, cupping Steve's ass.

'No, I mean...'

'Oh yeah, I know what you mean... I like the idea.'

'But maybe not yet... give it some time so we know we can live together.' 

'Sure,' Thor sighed, planting kisses on his neck 'one step at a time.'

Both men hoped that next step would be sooner rather than later.


End file.
